VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Vendors & Suppliers - Parts Rock Auto

Last week I ordered a part from Rock Auto knowing there was a one day delay. The part was an AC/DELCO mfg so I was not concerned about a one day delay as it was $10.00 vs. $35.00 elsewhere. A week later it still has not shipped and it can not be cancelled. While sometimes they can supply a good part at an attractive price their process for ordering and customer service is in my opinion poor at best .

Rock Auto is certainly an attractive parts source given their large number of suppliers and attractive pricing.

My experiences with them are very mixed. Now I only use them when I have time to address any problems. About 1/3 of the time something has to be returned or I just throw it away and buy from another source. The buyer pays return shipping.

I have even had issues with their “golden rule”. Their rule is that the image or picture of the part or kit is what you get. Nothing more nothing less. Except when the image is wrong. My last mess with them was whether the wheel cylinder kits included pistons like the picture showed. They did not. Their claim is that the supplier is responsible for the picture, not them. They really have no quality control.

Surprisingly I normally do not have shipping problems. Their shipping time estimates are pretty conservative. I often get parts in 2 or 3 days instead of the 5 to 10 they stated.

I can understand there can be delays with todays circumstances-covid-fires-etc, however it really bugs me when they simply say it will ship tomorrow and fail to do any follow up. After three Emails last week i got a reply that the "ticket was closed" and i needed to submit a new request for further infomation. Today I got an Email saying they are going to follow up with the vendor and will advise.

Welcome to to the new world order ! profit profit profit..............

Welcome to to the new world order ! profit profit profit..............

Yes and they readily admit it as I called their main office and the recording states they do not offer personal customer service and all transactions are done online to reduce cost!

After five days I am still waiting for a reply from Rock Auto regarding an update from their vendor . I have sent them another request to cancel. Hard to believe someone who calls themself a "customer service representative" is having such a hard time understanding that they are doing their company more harm than good. While I am sure they won't miss my business I would think perhaps they would want to have favorable reviews. This really is a classic example of poor customer service.

Some companies believe that there is another fool waiting on the other side of their advertisements to take the place of the POd customer. They are just waiting for the invitation to jump in. Or the "claimed" lower price will keep even the POd coming back.

The larger the company to more they are tightly controlled by the accountants. Ever met an accountant with compassion? Better build a statue to her in remembrance.

Chipper is correct. Unfortunately it's all about the buck and not customer service.

I spent a couple decades working for one of largest Japanese electronics manufacturers in the world with an amazing name in the electronics world. You could even order a nuclear reactor generating station from our catalog. Quality and Image were ULTRA important. After decades of great products and great product recognition, they realized they could not compete with junk products coming out of other overseas countries. They laid off 60,000 Japanese employees and we moved production to China. Being on the Service side of the company we were very concerned as the quality, failures and product perception immediately changed. The bottom line from that day forward was "We are keeping our quality just a little bit better than the competition. Our plan is that they will lose two customers due to quality and we only lose one so effectively we will gain one customer from them, even though we will in turn be making many customers unhappy. It is necessary for our survival". It was a sad and (embarrassing) day for a Japanese company.

Businesses exist in order to make money but unfortunately the customer is being forgotten these days.

It will be interesting to watch how Rock Auto goes through the first generation ownership transition.

Those of us here on VCCA Chat are not part of their major market. Their major market is the 5 to 20 year old vehicles that the owners just want to keep running at as low a cost as possible.

Another variable will be how the service parts market shifts in 10 to 15 years to support these technology packages on wheels that we drive today.

Steve,
Can't you cancel payment with your bank or card company? Perhaps that will get the attention of the vendor.

Mike

They have not charged my card yet but will do so once (if ever) the part ships. I called the credit card company and I can put a hold on the card but then I can not use it. I am also waiting for them to process a credit to the card for an item returned. They shipped a rear wheel cylinder in place of a front as it had been returned previously to them. They must not check returned parts too close as the box was dirty-and the tag torn off the sealed package. I checked this AM and after a week of checking with the supplier there has been no reply.

Hi Steve,

You are correct that they do not check returned items. They do not confirm the condition of the parts or if it is the correct part or if all the pieces like hardware are there.

I think I finally got their attention. This AM I received an Email from them (probably computer generated) thanking me for my business for the last four years and a discount code for my next order and a link to send a customer review. Don't need to say how that went. An hour later I got a reply that the vendor had called and advised they had cancelled the order, but there was now stock in a Rock Auto warehouse and the price was now even lower. Must just be a coincidence.

I just got an email today from them saying "We haven't had an order from you in a while. We miss you." Here is a code to get 5% off your next order.

Yep ! I get them every so often from the rock , I'm what's called a preferred customer.

Yesterday I received the bushings. They are quite a bit narrower than what I removed so just wondering if anyone has replaced theirs and if they will expand from their original size of 1-5/16" wide to almost 1-5/8". Also curious if the dimple in the center is a result of compressing into the groove or if the originals were molded that way. The AC/DELCO ones I received did not have the dimple however Steele Rubber does mold theirs with the dimple. On the positive side they do say "Made in the USA" and even though the box is marked QTY 1 there were two of each in the two boxes I received.